Ernest et Célestine is one of those films that embraces you and makes you feel as though you’ve had a big warm hug – it’s heart-warming and it re-imagines the possibilities of friendship.

In a world where mice and bears live in segregation, young Célestine befriends Ernest when he finds her sleeping in a bin and tries to eat her. She convinces him otherwise, with a promise of confectionery, and after going on the run from an illegal sweet shop binge, the two outlaws hide out in Ernest’s cottage until things blow over.

Elephants never forget and, as it turns out, neither do mice or bears, so it isn’t long before the authorities come-a-knocking. Although charged with theft and destruction of property, it is their friendship which is deemed to be their biggest crime.

Winner of the Cesar Award for Best Animated Picture and nominated for an Oscar, this French-Belgian production was first screened in Leeds at the International Film Festival back in 2012. Since then, it was finally released theatrically in the States with all new English-language dubbing, in which Ernest is voiced by Oscar-winner Forest Whittaker, but we’ll be screening it in its native French – this version sees Ernest voiced by, of all people, the Merovingion from the Matrix sequels!

Don’t let the subtitles put you off attending as a family, you’ll be as immersed in the story as you would be if it was in English (though I’m not sure that the storytelling would be as warm and soft as it is in French) and don’t worry too much about little ones either – they pick up more than you think (as I learnt when I worked at the Leeds Young Film Festival).

And if you haven’t got little ones, this film is still one to watch; it’s perfectly adorable and will remind you that you shouldn’t always believe societal constructs that inform us of who we can and can’t get along with or be. We might just need to question why they’re there and our gut instinct may take us on the journey to break the mould.

A big cheery thanks to Kay for this month’s preview. Please be sure to check her website, Cheery Little Thing, to discover more of the pleasing and cultural gems happening in and around Yorkshire. We particularly recommend her Short Lunch feature which showcases a short film each Thursday lunch time, for your viewing pleasure. If you head over there today, you may just find an animated short by your favourite little film society.

Tickets are available from our online ticket office now and this month we’re including an option for under 12s. As Kay states, this is a great film for all the family and a great introduction to foreign language cinema for the young ones.

Doors open from 6.40PM and the feature presentation will be preceded by a selection of animated shorts and FREE homemade cake and refreshment.

Vous y voir!

*UPDATE*

Well, we were already pretty excited about this month’s film night but now we’re chomping at the bit and we’re very happy to announce two new additions to July’s programme.

Firstly, this month’s offering of home-baked goods comes courtesy of Sarah Mather from Noisette Bakehouse. We first met Sarah at a Cheery Little Thing event last month and promptly spent all our cash on the tasty treats she had to offer. How tasty? Check out the Noisette website and get your drool on. Go on, we’ll wait…

… See what we mean?! Sarah will be providing us with some delicious Madeleines, which will complement our feature presentation of Ernest et Célestine perfectly.

And secondly, Studio Binky, the Sheffield based multidisciplinary creative design studio, have kindly given us with a copy of their latest colouring book, which our younger audience will have the opportunity to win on the night – so the big kids among you will have to bring a little one along if you want to be in with a chance of winning!